Suspension apparatus for endless monocable and bicable aerial ropeways with clamp control

ABSTRACT

A suspension device for endless ropeways of the kind comprising controllable clamping jaws for the cable, mounted on a supporting body. The improvement consisting in that at least one of the clamping devices is pivotally connected to the supporting body and is allowed limitedly to oscillate in order to vary the distance from the other device by the agency of an element on which movement controlling members are active under control and with a preselected force. By so doing, the reliability of the suspension device is considerably increased and the legal safety prescription can be better fulfilled.

nited States atent [191 Dettoni Mar. 18, 1975 [30] Foreign Application Priority Data Sept. 21, 1972 Italy 29480/72 [52] US. Cl. 104/178, 104/202 [51] Int. Cl 1361b 7/20 [58] Field of Search 104/173, 178, 202, 204,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Muller 104/204 Feuz 104/204 Wallmannsberger 104/202 [57] ABSTRACT A suspension device for endless ropeways of the kind comprising controllable clamping jaws for the cable, mounted on a supporting body. The improvement consisting in that at least one of the clamping devices is pivotally connected to the supporting body and is allowed limitedly to oscillate in order to vary the distance from the other device by the agency of an element on which movement controlling members are active under control and with a preselected force. By so doing, the reliability of the suspension device is considerably increased and the legal safety prescription can be better fulfilled 5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures SUSPENSION APPARATUS FOR ENDLESS MONOCABLE AND BICABLE AERIAL ROPEWAYS WITH CLAMP CONTROL This invention relates to a suspension apparatus for endless monocable and bicable aerial ropeways, with control of the clamping as regards the coupling between the clamping jaws and the haulage cable.

In the endless aerial ropeways installations the vehicles for conveying passengers and/or goods are connected as they leave the stations by suspension apparatus to the haulage cables to be then disconnected therefrom at the arrival. In order to ensure a reliability in service for such installations, as each vehicle is started the necessity arises of controlling the clamping as obtained by the coupling between the rope and the jaws. According to the specifications as prescribed by the law, the vehicles are allowed to leave a station only if the clamping force is imparted by the jaws to the rope exceeds a certain preordained selected value.

Conventional control members detect only the pressure of spring means pressing against the clamping jaws, rather than the adherence of the jaws themselves to the rope. For a certain magnitude of the force impressed by the springs to the jaw, the adherence force could be comparatively reduced, for example due to soiling of the rope. For this reason a control mechanism of this kind does not fulfil the requirements of the law.

Other members, conversely, control directly the adherence of the jaws to the rope by impressing to the jaw a braking force while simultaneously checking whether or not a slipping between the jaw and the rope has occured. Such a member has the defects of inducing considerable oscillations onto the catenaries at each start of vehicles due to the overload which is thus imparted to the rope.

Moreover, suspension apparatus are known with the clamping control, which comprise two clamping devices mounted for sliding along the direction of the haulage cable within a supporting body; means are also provided which controllably compel the devices to slide within said body and a control member for the mutual spreading thereof due to sliding along the cable.

Inasmuch as the clamping devices are only allowed to be translated within the supporting body, the cable becomes stiff by the agency of the suspension apparatus along the entire span of the apparatus and for this reason a considerable flexural force is originated in the rope as the deflection angle of the rope is considerable. The sliding of the clamping devices within the supporting body can be influenced by ambient factors such as temperature, dust, and others which remarkably misrepresent the results of the check.

An object of the present invention is to do away with such shortcomings by reducing the flexural forces and suppressing matching surfaces which could be influenced by ambient factors.

This object is achieved by providing a suspension apparatus for endless, monoor by-cable aerial ropeways with control of the clamping, of the kind comprising clamping devices as mounted in a supporting body, members for checking the force impressed by the jaws of the clamping means on the cables, wherein they are locked, characterized in that, at least one of these clamping devices is pivotally connected to said body and is capable of being oscillated in order to vary its distance from the other by the shifting of an element on which are active under control and with a preselected force magnitude, members which control the shifting thereof.

Advantageously, two clamping devices are mounted on a beam body, one of the devices being rigidly fastened, the other linkably connected by means of a pin which is eccentrical with respect to the cable axis. The linked clamping device is integrally connected to a lever member whose free end is equipped with a follower. The follower for said lever is adapted to contact a pad as urged by a spring having a preselected stiffness. In contact with said pad there is a detector adapted to deliver a signal whenever it is completely depressed by the pad movement, that which occurs as the lever is not moved concurrently with the relative clamping device.

If desired, the two clamping devices can be both link ably connected to said supporting beam.

With reference to the figures of the accompanying drawing, the device according to the invention is explained by way of example and more comprehensively described, without any limitation.

FIG. 1 shows a front view of the device according to the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the device, partially in cross-sectional view taken along the line Il-Il of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the device when the clamping force goes below a preselected magnitude.

The suspension apparatus comprises a boxlike rectangular cross-section beam 1 equipped with a pin 2 intended to receive a suspension rod 3 of a conveying vehicle (not shown). To either end of the beam 1 there is integrally affixed a clamping device 4 of conventional make as itself, whereas to the other end a similar clamping device 5 is linkably connected by a pin 6. The two clamping devices 4 and 5 are equipped with jaws 7 and 8, respectively, which are adapted to engage a cable 9. ln FIGS. 1 and 3 the jaws 7 and 8 are shown in phantom, since they are concealed by the apparatus as such. The jaws 7 and 8 can be controlled, in their closing and opening motions, on the cable 9, by control means which are not shown as they are conventional and are outside the scope of the invention. Each clamping device is equipped with a rotatable follower 10 intended to roll on a rail 11 during the opening and closing movements of the jaws 7 and 8 to connect the vehicle to the cable and during the check of the clamping of the jaws 7 and 8.

The clamping device 5 is integrally connected to a lever 12 which is equipped at its free end with a follower 13.

In the start stations the suspension device is coupled to the cable 9 by the jaws 7 and 8 in the conventional way since the two clamping devices 4 and 5 are held in position, as at the instant of the coupling, by a spring 30 hooked with its end to hooks 31 and 32 provided on these devices. At a preselected distance from the rail 11 a pad 14, adapted to contact the follower I3, is suspended on calibrated springs 15 and 16 as afixed to a supporting member 17 fixed in space.

A shift of the pad 14, as defined by the running of the follower 13 of the lever 12 under the pad. causes a compression of the springs 15 and 16 to intervene. Due to said compression, a force is generated which originates, with respect to the eccentrical pin 6, a rotation moment which causes on the jaw 8 a force to be produced which acts along the cable 9 and equals the prescribed adherence force. Said force acting upon the jaw 8 tends towards spreading the jaw 8 apart from the jaw 7 and, by equilibrium, the same force will be active upon the jaw 7 but in the opposite direction.

In contact with the pad 14 there is a detector 18 which is completely compressed when the springs and 16 produce a force corresponding to the adherence force as prescribed for the jaws 7 and 8; in such a position the detector 18 delivers a warning signal which is transferred to a suitable alarm system, not shown, of any conventional make.

The check of the clamping of the jaws 7 and 8, which is effected by the assembly of the lever 12, follower 13, pad 14, springs 15 and 16 and detector 18 operates as follows:

The suspension apparatus, after having been coupled with the cable 9, continues to be rolled on the rail 11 and is compelled to pass with the follower 13 of the lever 12 under the pad 14, whereby two events may occur:

lf the clamping force of the jaws 7 and 8 is adequate, the lever 12 is not shifted but, conversely, shifts the pad 14, the latter compressing the springs 15 and 16 until they produce a force of a predetermined magnitude as outlined above: the detector 18 is squeezed and delivers afreeway signal to the motive unit of the installation thus allowing the vehicle to come out of the station.

In the opposite case, the jaw 8 slides along the cable 9 or, as an alternative, it is the jaw 7 to be slid over the cable 9: the lever is depressed but does not succeed in bringing the detector 18 to the squeezed position. By an alarm system the installation is brought to a stop or, as an alternative, a latch locks the suspension apparatus. FIG. 3 shows the case in which the clamping force of the jaw 8 is less than the adherence force required.

It should be observed that in the present exemplary embodiment one of the two clamping devices can perform slight rotations about the pin 6. This fact imparts to the cable section which is engaged by the clamps a greater flexibility, the result being a reduction of the stresses the rope is demanded to undergo.

As outlined above, also the clamping device 4 could be properly linkably connected to the supporting body 1 What is claimed is:

l. A suspension device for clamping a transport vehicle to the haulage rope of an aerial ropeway and controlling the clamping hold on the rope, said device comprising in combination:

a support structure guided for movement along and parallel to the haulage rope;

a pair of clamping means supported on said support structure lengthwise spaced apart, one of said clamping means being stationarily mounted on the support structure and the other clamping means being slidable relative to said one clamping means, spring means biasing said clamping means toward a relative position in which the clamping means produce a predetermined holding force, at least one of said clamping means including a clamping member clampingly engageable with the haulage rope and a control member said clamping member, said control member being pivotal about an axis eccentric relative to the location of the clamping member on the control member, the angular position of the control member and thus of the clamping member controlling the clamping force exerted by said clamping member; and

control means for controlling release or stoppage of the transport vehicle as a function of the clamping force exerted by said clamping means, said control means including sensing means effecting release and stoppage respectively of the vehicle, actuating means coactingwith said sensing means for activating the same, elastic means supporting said activating means, and linkage means secured to said control member mounting the clamping member for pivoting in unison therewith, said linkage means coacting with said actuating means for displacing said actuating means against the action of the elastic means into a position causing the sensing means to effect release of the vehicle in response to a pivotal position of the control member indicative to a predetermined minimum clamping pressure and also permitting movement of the actuating means by the action of the elastic means into a position in which the sensing means are inactive thereby effecting stoppage of the vehicle.

2. The device according to claim 1 and comprising a stationarily mounted guide track extending parallel to said haulage rope, said support structure being slidable on said guide track for displacement of the support structure in response to a pivoting of the linkage means by action of the actuating means.

3. The device according to claim 1 wherein said eccentric axis for pivoting of the control member comprises a pivot pin mounted on said support structure spaced apart from the center axis of the haulage rope.

4. The device according to claim 1 wherein said linkage means comprises a lever fixedly secured to the control member for pivoting in unison therewith.

5. The device according to claim 4 wherein the free end of said lever mounts a pad coacting with said actuating means for varying the position of said means in response to a pivotal movement of the lever. 

1. A suspension device for clamping a transport vehicle to the haulage rope of an aerial ropeway and controlling the clamping hold on the rope, said device comprising in combination: a support structure guided for movement along and parallel to the haulage rope; a pair of clamping means supported on said support structure lengthwise spaced apart, one of said clamping means being stationarily mounted on the support structure and the other clamping means being slidable relative to said one clamping means, spring means biasing said clamping means toward a relative position in which the clamping means produce a predetermined holding force, at least one of said clamping means including a clamping member clampingly engageable with the haulage rope and a control member said clamping member, said control member being pivotal about an axis eccentric relative to the location of the clamping member on the control member, the angular position of the control member and thus of the clamping member controlling the clamping force exerted by said clamping member; and control means for controlling release or stoppage of the transport vehicle as a function of the clamping force exerted by said clamping means, said control means including sensing means effecting release and stoppage respectively of the vehicle, actuating means coactingwith said sensing means for activating the same, elastic means supporting said activating means, and linkage means secured to said control member mounting the clamping member for pivoting in unison therewith, said linkage means coacting with said actuating means for displacing said actuating means against the action of the elastic means into a position causing the sensing means to effect release of the vehicle in response to a pivotal position of the control member indicative to a predetermined minimum clamping pressure and also permitting movement of the actuatIng means by the action of the elastic means into a position in which the sensing means are inactive thereby effecting stoppage of the vehicle.
 2. The device according to claim 1 and comprising a stationarily mounted guide track extending parallel to said haulage rope, said support structure being slidable on said guide track for displacement of the support structure in response to a pivoting of the linkage means by action of the actuating means.
 3. The device according to claim 1 wherein said eccentric axis for pivoting of the control member comprises a pivot pin mounted on said support structure spaced apart from the center axis of the haulage rope.
 4. The device according to claim 1 wherein said linkage means comprises a lever fixedly secured to the control member for pivoting in unison therewith.
 5. The device according to claim 4 wherein the free end of said lever mounts a pad coacting with said actuating means for varying the position of said means in response to a pivotal movement of the lever. 